- How plants put down roots
In the beginning is the fertilised egg cell. Following numerous cell divisions, it then develops into a complex organism with different organs and tissues. The largely unexplained process whereby the cells simply "know" the...
(Issue date: 21 March 2010)
- Investigators identifiy potential new targets for treatment of colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases
Scientists report a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital...
(Issue date: 21 March 2010)
- Targeted Sequencing in Maize Genome Utilizing a Novel Two-Stage Sequence Capture Method with NimbleGen Arrays and 454 Sequencing Systems
Researchers from Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, University of Florida and Roche NimbleGen have published a novel method to perform targeted sequencing in the highly complex maize genome. The method, which can be...
(Issue date: 21 March 2010)
- Eggshell of extinct giant bird provides ancient DNA
In a world first an international team of researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from the eggshells of various species of extinct birds.
The research shows that fossil eggshell is a previously unrecognised source...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- Cellular "Switch" May Provide New Means of Triggering Cell Death, Treating Human Diseases
A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has discovered a previously unknown cellular "switch" that may provide researchers with a new means of triggering programmed cell death, findings with implications for...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- ROLE OF 'MICROTENTACLES' ON BREAST TUMOR CELLS IN SPREAD OF CANCER
Researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center have discovered that "microtentacles," or extensions of the plasma membrane of breast cancer cells, appear to play a key role in how cancers...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- Quantum Dots Spotlight DNA-Repair Proteins in Motion
Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh,...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- U-M scientists identify reservoirs where HIV-infected cells can lie in wait
University of Michigan scientists have identified a new reservoir for hidden HIV-infected cells that can serve as a factory for new infections. The findings indicate a new target for curing the disease so those infected with the...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- New secretary general at Europabio
EuropaBio announces that Nathalie Moll has been appointed as Secretary General from 1 April this year. “Nathalie brings with her a wealth of experience in biotechnology and European public policy, gained bothat an EU and Member...
(Issue date: 21 February 2010)
- Video of virus in action shows viruses can spread faster than thought possible
New video footage of a virus infecting cells is challenging what researchers have long believed about how viruses spread, suggesting that scientists may be able to create new drugs to tackle some viruses. Previously, viruses were...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Scientists discover cells critical to cause and relapse of childhood leukaemia
Scientists at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne have discovered the cells that cause a common type of childhood leukaemia - T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL). Targeting of these cells may...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Study Reveals Unexpected Function for Seemingly Redundant Protein
In a surprising finding, researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered the critical importance of a protein previously believed to be a redundant "on switch" for certain immune-system responses.
Scientists...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Lack of cellular enzyme triggers switch in glucose processing
A study investigating how a cellular enzyme affects blood glucose levels in mice provides clues to pathways that may be involved in processes including the regulation of longevity and the proliferation of tumour cells....
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Researchers identify a new gene involved in autophagy, the cellular recycling programme
All cells are equipped with a recycling programme to collect and remove unnecessary cellular components. Autophagy sequesters and digests aged organelles, damaged proteins and other components, which, if not disintegrated and...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- New genetic map will speed up plant breeding of the world's most important medicinal crop
Plant scientists at the University of York have published the first genetic map of the medicinal herb Artemisia annua.
The map is being used to accelerate plant breeding of Artemisia and rapidly develop the species into a...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Green Sea Slug Is Part Animal, Part Plant
It’s easy being green for a sea slug that has stolen enough genes to become the first animal shown to make chlorophyll like a plant.
Shaped like a leaf itself, the slug Elysia chlorotica already has a reputation for kidnapping...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- ANGIOTENSIN RECEPTOR BLOCKERS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER INCIDENCE, PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)—a particular class of anti-hypertensive medicines—are associated with a striking decrease in the occurrence and...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Key Mechanism for the Proliferation of Epstein-Barr Virus Discovered
Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have elucidated a crucial mechanism in the lytic cycle of Epstein-Barr virus. A team of researchers led by Professor Wolfgang Hammerschmidt identified the function of a protein which plays...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Cancer Stem Cells Suppress Immune Response Against Brain Tumour
Cancer-initiating cells that launch glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal type of brain tumour, also suppress an immune system attack on the disease, scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Sequencing wasp genome sheds new light on sexual parasite
About 100 million years ago, the bacterium Wolbachia came up with a trick that has made it one of the most successful parasites in the animal kingdom: It evolved the ability to manipulate the sex lives of its hosts.
"When it...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
